N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. They were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.
Eric Lynn Wright, known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".
Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."
Antoine Carraby, known professionally as DJ Yella, is an American DJ, rapper, record producer and film director from Los Angeles.
N.W.A. and the Posse is a compilation album, re-releasing N.W.A and associated groups' underground rap songs from the Los Angeles area's rap scene on November 6, 1987. It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album; N.W.A's authorized debut studio album, rather, is Straight Outta Compton, released in August 1988. Whereas the Straight album was certified platinum, one million copies sold in July 1989, the Posse album was certified gold, half as many copies sold, in April 1994.
C.I.A., a name short for Cru' in Action!, replacing the earlier name Stereo Crew, was an American hip hop trio, K-Dee, Sir Jinx, and Ice Cube, on the Los Angeles rap scene in the 1980s. The trio debuted at parties thrown by Sir Jinx's cousin Dr. Dre. Dre was in one of the Los Angeles area's leading DJ crews, the World Class Wreckin' Cru, whose core members, including Dre, doubled as a successful electro rap group. In 1986, the Stereo Crew's single "She's a Skag" arrived on Epic Records, which soon dropped the group for poor sales.
Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro funk and electro rap to gangsta rap. Now a legend of West Coast rap, he worked with rapper Ice-T in the early 1980s, then with Alonzo "Grandmaster Lonzo" Williams, and with MC Eiht's group Compton's Most Wanted in the early 1990s.
Michel'le Denise Toussant, also spelled Toussaint, is an American R&B singer known for her songs from 1989 to the early 1990s. Her highest charting song is the top ten US Hot 100 hit "No More Lies". Between 2013 and 2015, Michel'le was one of six members on the TV One reality show R&B Divas: Los Angeles. She is also the subject of the 2016 biopic Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le.
"Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard's Hot 100, and the most successful of Eazy's singles as a solo artist, it led an EP, also his most successful, It's On 187um Killa. This diss track answers Eazy's former N.W.A bandmate Dr. Dre and his debuting, guest rapper Snoop Dogg, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, The Chronic.
Gerald Elliot Heller was an American music manager and businessman. He was best known for his management of West Coast rap and gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A and Eazy-E. He rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s representing Journey, Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison, War, Eric Burdon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Ike & Tina Turner, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Otis Redding, the Who, REO Speedwagon, Black Sabbath, Humble Pie, Styx, the Grass Roots, and the Standells, among many others.
Ruthless Records was an American Independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several artists and groups on the label such as N.W.A, Eazy-E, MC Ren, The D.O.C., Michel'le, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have released RIAA certified albums.
"Boyz-n-the-Hood" is the debut single by Eazy-E, then leader of a new rap group, N.W.A. Released in March 1987, the single was a local hit, reissued, by year's end on the unauthorized compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse.
World Class is the first studio album by American Los Angeles-based electro-hop group World Class Wreckin' Cru. It was released in 1985 under the Kru-Cut record label. Songs on the album included "Juice" and "Surgery", which were popular singles on the underground West Coast scene.
Rapped in Romance is the second and final studio album by American Los Angeles–based electro-hop group the World Class Wreckin' Cru. It was released in 1986 on Epic. Cli-N-Tel left the group during the fall of 1985 which led to Lonzo recruiting Shakespeare to join the group.
Concrete Roots is a compilation album containing songs produced by Dr. Dre, released in 1994. The album was conceived and compiled by Lee "DJ Flash" Johnson. The album peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard 200.
"Eazy-Duz-It" is a song by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released as the lead single from the album of the same name. It features the song "Radio" as a B-side. The B-side of the cassette single also contained the original version of the song "Compton's N the House" which only appears on the cassette single version, the vinyl single has a radio edit of "Eazy-Duz-It" instead of "Compton's N the House". There is a remix version of "Compton's N the House" that appears on N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton album, but the original can only be found on the cassette single and has never been released elsewhere.
Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American biographical drama film directed by F. Gary Gray, depicting the rise and fall of the hip hop group N.W.A and its members Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Members of N.W.A were involved in the production of the film, including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre as producers, as was Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright. MC Ren and DJ Yella served as creative consultants. Ice Cube is played by his real-life son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., who made his film debut. Corey Hawkins portrays Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell is Eazy-E, Neil Brown Jr. is DJ Yella, and Aldis Hodge is MC Ren. Paul Giamatti stars as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller.
Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le is a 2016 American biographical television drama film directed by Jackie Cooke, starring Rhyon Nicole Brown as Michel'le, Curtis Hamilton as Dr. Dre and Jamie Kennedy as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller. The film is based on the true story of R&B singer Michel'le. The omission of Michel'le's involvement in the lives of Dre in N.W.A's 2015 biopic, Straight Outta Compton, gave her an opportunity to tell her story as a former artist on Eazy-E's Ruthless Records.
Alonzo Williams is an American DJ and former member and promoter of the World Class Wreckin' Cru. He is credited for playing a major role in the development of West Coast Hip Hop, tracing back to the late 1970s. He is also the former owner of Kru-Cut Records.
Tony Alvarez, known as DJ Tony A. Da Wizard is an American DJ/producer and film director. He is best known for creating The Roadium Mixtapes with Dr. Dre and Steve Yano at the Roadium Swap Meet in Gardena, California. He’s also known for producing and DJing for the rapper Hi-C featuring Tony A. on the album titled Skanless.
